Top 6 Uses for Compost

You can use compost at home:

on your lawn
in your flower beds and vegetable gardens
as a mix for container plants
for topdressing
as mulch or for weed suppression
for tree planting

Compost is also used commercially in landscaping, on golf courses, in parks and on sports turfs.

Lawns

New Lawns
Apply 2.5 cm - 5 cm (1" - 2") of compost and rototill to a depth of 13 cm (5") before you sod or seed your lawn.

Seeded Lawns
For seeded lawns, apply the seeds and a slight dusting of compost to cover. (Compost helps the seeds grow faster.)
Once you have laid the sod or seeded your lawn, water thoroughly.

Flower Beds

Existing Beds
For your existing beds, add about 2.5 cm (1") of compost and work into the soil using a rake, hoe or rototiller. (A rototiller is a landscaping tool with engine-powered rotating blades that lift and turn soil). Water until the entire root zone is saturated.

New Beds
For new beds, add 2.5 cm - 5 cm (1" - 2") of compost and rototill or mix to at least a 13 cm (5") depth, then plant and water the flowers.

Vegetable Gardens

Apply about 2.5 cm (1") of compost and rototill to a depth of 13 cm (5"). If your soil is poor quality, you might need to compost yearly until the soil improves.

Be careful not to apply too much compost as many vegetables won’t grow in abundance if there’s too much nitrogen in the soil. (Too much nitrogen increases soil acidity and reduces other nutrients.)

Topdressing

Aerate (ventilate) the entire area before topdressing using an aerator. (Aerating breaks the soil’s surface by poking holes into the earth and bringing oxygen to the soil.)

Spread 3 mm - 1.25 cm (1/8"-1/2") of compost evenly over the area using a rake, then water the area thoroughly. (Watering helps the compost move through the soil’s surface.)

Mulch/Weed Supression

General Mulching
Mulch is a natural or artificial layer on top of soil that reduces erosion and inhibits weed growth. For mulch applications around landscaped plants, use a 5 cm (2") layer of compost.

Apply the compost and spread with a rake to distribute the compost evenly. Try not to overmulch, or you might smother the root systems.

Around Trees
When mulching around trees, try not to put too much mulch around the trunk as this creates the perfect home for rodents!

Arrange the mulch so that water flows away from the tree trunk. This will lessen the chance of crown rot. When mulching, choose a coarse-textured compost to reduce weeds and provide a thick cover to the area.

Tree Planting

Rototill the area about three to five times the diameter of the root ball of the tree.

Before planting the tree, add 30 per cent compost to the original soil and mix thoroughly outside of the hole.

Place the tree in the hole and use the compost-soil mixture as backfill around the root ball. Water the area thoroughly.

>> next page: Measuring and Applying Compost